Fortunio Bonanova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fortunio Bonanova
From the film Fiesta (1947)
Born	Josep Lluís Moll (1895-01-13)13 January 1895 Palma, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Died	2 April 1969(1969-04-02) (aged 74) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, opera singer
Years active	1922–1964

Fortunio Bonanova (born Josep Lluís Moll) was a talented Spanish actor and singer. He was born on January 13, 1895, and passed away on April 2, 1969. He worked in movies, theater, and TV shows. He also sometimes produced or directed projects.

His stage name, Fortunio Bonanova, came from his wish for good fortune. It also showed his love for the Bonanova neighborhood in his hometown of Palma.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

When he was young, Fortunio Bonanova worked as a professional telegraph operator. He also studied music with an Italian teacher named Giovachini. In 1921, he started his singing career in an opera called Tannhäuser in Palma.

Around the same time, he joined a group of thinkers and writers. One famous person in this group was Jorge Luis Borges. They signed something called the Ultraist Manifesto. This was a paper about new ideas in art and literature. Fortunio Bonanova used his stage name for the first time when he signed it.

Movies and Opera

In 1921, Fortunio Bonanova appeared in a silent film called Don Juan Tenorio. This movie was shown in New York City and Hollywood the next year. He later directed his own version of Don Juan in 1924.

In 1927, he acted in a movie called Love of Sunya. It was directed by Albert Parker and starred Gloria Swanson. In 1932, he had small parts in Hollywood movies. These films featured famous actresses like Joan Bennett and Mary Astor.

During this time, he also performed in New York. He sang in several operas. He also appeared in Spanish musical plays called zarzuelas. Some of these were La Canción del Olvido and La Duquesa del Tabarín.

In 1934, he went back to Spain. He had a big role in the film El Desaparecido. The next year, he acted and sang in the movie Poderoso Caballero.

Return to the United States

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began. Fortunio Bonanova returned to the United States. There, he played Captain Bill in a film called Capitán Tormenta. After 1940, he started getting more and more acting and singing roles. Most of these were in English-language movies.

Some of his well-known roles include:

• Signor Matiste, an opera coach in Citizen Kane (1941).
• General Sebastiano in Five Graves to Cairo (1943).
• Don Miguel in The Black Swan (1942).
• Fernando in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943).
• Sam Garlopis in Double Indemnity (1944).
• A singing Christopher Columbus in Where Do We Go From Here? (1945).

He continued to play many different characters for several decades. He also helped as a technical consultant for the film Blood and Sand (1941). In 1939, he produced and appeared in a Spanish-language film called La Inmaculada.

Later Career and Television

In 1947, Bonanova played the father of twins in the film Fiesta. The twins were played by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán.

In the 1950s, he appeared in several TV shows.

• He was in an episode of I Love Lucy. He played a fake psychic who made it look like Lucy could speak Spanish.
• In 1952, he played an Italian opera singer named Anthony Branchetti in My Little Margie.
• In 1953, he played Uncle Bozzo in an episode of Abbott & Costello.
• In 1955, he appeared as an opera star in an episode of the TV show Willy.

Fortunio Bonanova passed away in 1969 in Woodland Hills, California. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Partial filmography

See also

In Spanish: Fortunio Bonanova para niños